You Are In Love
by R.F. Leed
Summary: It was a new beginning. It had been waiting for her, and she could already feel that something wonderful was going to happen. Her lungs expanded as they filled with the crisp September mountain air. Anna straightened her messenger bag's strap across her chest, tightened her grip on her suitcase, and took her first confident step as a college girl. CollegeAU, brOTP Kristanna.
1. Welcome to New York

You Are In Love

01: Welcome to New York

If Anna Summers were to to lie to herself, she'd say that she wasn't excited at all. She'd say that she didn't want to go to the smaller Arendelle University, and that she'd rather go to the state college just a train ride away from home because, well, _ Arendelle_ was the last name of her childhood best friend who had moved away ten years ago. _Arendelle_ carried more weight to her than Anna would want others to know, what with said childhood best friend's great-great-something-or-others having founded the university in the first place, and so would obviously be going to school there when she could. _Arendelle_ was considered prestigious, being a private, small college a ways up north from her hometown, very difficult to get into, and very expensive.

But Anna Summers liked to think of herself as an honest girl, and so she was ready to admit that she was ridiculously excited because, well, college! New people, new experiences, new _everythings._ She would be away from home longer than a few days (and she only did ever stay over at Kristoff's, who was only a few houses down the road anyway, for gaming and whatnot), she would be in control of her food and diet, and she didn't even have to be home by eleven anymore.

She could live off chocolate alone.

Though the more she thought of it, the more she realized that maybe she'd need Kristoff's help so that she wouldn't indulge in the dessert too much. And she probably would still be home by eleven, out of habit more than anything. And she probably wouldn't be making a lot of friends—if any, despite the campus crawling with students—because, really, who would want to waste their time on her anyway? But she shrugged those thoughts off.

With her eyes fixed on the ornate sign above her, Anna realized that finally, that this was it. She'd earned her way here by getting a near perfect GPA in high school and scoring a generous scholarship that was the only reason her family could afford to let her attend.

It was a new beginning. It had been waiting for her, and she could already feel that something wonderful was going to happen.

Her lungs expanded as they filled with the crisp September mountain air. She straightened her messenger bag's strap across her chest, tightened her grip on her suitcase, and took her first confident step as a college girl.

And, of course, despite her thoughts about a whole new confident and remade Anna, she stepped—collided, rather—right into a warm body.

"I'm so sorry!"

God, couldn't she ever do anything right? She'd spent so much time reading stories about girls going to college, about romances, about how everything would go swimmingly, and she wished that, just once, she could have that. But of course she couldn't because she was clumsy, rambly, uncoordinated Anna who spoke too much while saying too little, and she'd been so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd forgotten to look just two steps in front of her.

When she opened her eyes, she found that she was staring down into vaguely familiar blue ones.

Wow, they were a gorgeous shade of blue. She could easily get lost in them. Who was she to complain?

Well, her. She would complain. She would complain to hell and back because, dang it, she wasn't even religious, but God just seemed to like watching her fail, and Anna was more than a little sick of it.

Familiar as those eyes may have been, Anna was very quick to realize that the body underneath her was decidedly unfamiliar. She, heat rising to her freckled cheeks, had wound up on top of a complete stranger. A gorgeous, comfortable stranger, but still a stranger nonetheless.

The mirroring rising blush on the other woman's cheeks drew Anna out of her thoughts, and she scrambled to push herself off the (very soft, very womanly) body and onto her own sneaker-clad feet. Anna offered a hand since it was the least she could do, and pulled her up with no effort.

Wow, she had soft hands.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going, and I really should do that more often, but I was distracted and—"

The blonde was brushing off her expensive looking cream colored blazer (God, Anna hoped she hadn't gotten dirt on the back of it), and sent a gorgeous smile at Anna. "It's okay. Nobody's been hurt."

Anna sighed. "Only my pride," she muttered.

There was something in the deep blue eyes that made her have to resist a shiver, and she couldn't help but look in the direction they were pointing when they flicked away from her. A bulky, brown eyed man was heading towards them, grin splitting his face as a massive dog walked beside him.

"It looks like your friend is coming by," the woman said. With a warm smile and a bite of her pink, slightly glossed bottom lip, she picked up her own luggage—just a small professional looking briefcase, Anna noted, and then felt her stomach drop because, crap, what if she had just knocked a professor over?—and turned to walk away. "I hope to see you again, Anna. I appreciate your opinion about my eyes."

What a lovely voice.

She blinked. Eyes?

"Hey, Anna!" Kristoff's voice reached her ears just as she covered her face with her hands.

God, she really did just call a stranger who might be one of her professors's eyes gorgeous, didn't she? Weren't people supposed to come with some sort of filter in between their brain and their mouth? Did it skip her? The mortification must have shown on her face because Kristoff, as soon as he'd come around to stand beside her, laughed.

"Shut up," she groused. "I'm so stupid. It's not even the first day and I've already knocked somebody over."

He snickered then, and wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulders as Sven came around to her other side. The English Mastiff's head set itself under her hand, looking for attention that Anna was more than happy to give him. He came up to just past the top of her hips.

Big dog for a big man.

Kristoff himself was a full head and a half taller than her, with shaggy blond hair that he never seemed to comb. He always seemed to smell a little bit like dog, understandably so since he was known to have Sven climb all over him. His large hands clasped the bar of Anna's suitcase, and they began their slow journey to the dorms.

"I saw," Kristoff said. "I didn't think you'd find her so quickly, but you two were always inseparable like that."

She looked at him, curiosity piqued. "What do you mean?"

His eyebrows scrunched together, and he glanced down to meet her confused gaze. "You... don't recognize her? Didn't she say your name?"

Kristoff watched his best (human) friend's face mirror his own expression.

"Wait, how did she know my name? And—and how did she know you were my friend?" Aquamarine eyes snapped back to the stranger across the small patch of field between the walkways. There was something about her...

_Always inseparable?_ What had Kristoff been getting at? She hadn't been called that since... since...

"Elsa?"

For a moment, Anna had to wonder if she'd said it louder than she thought. If she had accidentally screamed it across the field. Or maybe Elsa had gained some psychic powers within the last decade—not that she would know, since she'd never gotten a phone call, an email, or even snail mail—because as the name left her mouth, the woman in question paused mid-step and sent a questioning look over her shoulder, blue eyes locking straight on Anna's.

It got hard to breathe.

It was like somebody turned on the slow motion, blur, and selective focus in her life. Like there was someone manipulating the evening sun in just the right way because, wow, there was no way it could hit Elsa's platinum hair or moonlight pale skin in that way naturally.

Starstruck.

The pale, soft hand that she had taken to pull Elsa off the ground was raised once more, and Elsa's fingers curled into her palm.

Was this how all reunions played out? Were they all this... surreal looking?

Anna tried her best to mirror the action—just a simple wave back—though she figured she mucked it up somehow. Probably wound up accidentally flipping everybody in the general vicinity off, knowing her luck. But, again, there were no more odd stares than usual, so she distantly figured that it was good. First accomplishment of the day: waving like a normal person. College girl Anna.

After what felt like forever Elsa smiled, gracefully dropped her hand back to her side, and she went back on her way. It was all Anna could do not to stare at the remnants of the long legs that the cream colored, pleated pencil skirt didn't cover. And that hip swish!

Good lord, Anna needed a moment to catch her breath.

"You really didn't know it was her?" Kristoff's voice broke her out of her reverie.

"What? No," Anna shook her head and tentatively, with frequent glances back at the sharply dressed and very grown up Elsa, took steps forward once more. "I... I had no idea."

She really should have expected it. In fact, she was well aware that something like this _could_ happen, that there was a massive possibility that she could bump into Elsa again, but she didn't think it to happen so literally and so soon.

Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, and glanced over at the redhead's face. "She's asked me about you."

Turquoise eyes met his, and he was quick to look anywhere but at her. "And you didn't bother to tell me?" She couldn't keep the edge out of her voice.

"I—I mean, it's not like she didn't catch me off guard, either!" he was ready to defend himself, Anna noted, judging by how little time it took for him to respond. He'd been thinking about this. "She came up to me last year, I didn't even _know_ she was here, I forgot we'd be in the same year, and she asked me about how you were."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you're fine and haven't broken any bones since you fell out of a tree when you were eight."

Anna cringed. Not even a full hour spent at campus and she already wanted the world to swallow her into the ground.

* * *

><p>Anna spent the better part of her evening settling into her single room. Once she settled into an easy groove of unfolding and hanging, her mind wandered to other places.<p>

Kristoff had dropped her off at her dorm and only stayed an hour before going back to his own apartment—a present from his parents for his final year—with Sven. He, the sentimental man he hid from everybody but her and his family, left a small framed picture of them on her desk, claiming that it would keep her from being too lonely. It was the only picture she had out at the moment.

It wasn't anything fancy, just a quick snapshot of them at Anna's high school graduation. They were lucky enough that Kristoff's end of year exams finished just days before, and so he could come down for the ceremony. It was the first time they'd seen each other since his spring break, and she remembered that they made quick work in catching up over dinner with her family and then a few rounds of video games.

She reached for her phone on the other side of her bed, fingers instinctively punching in Kristoff's number while her mind was finding its way to Elsa.

Elsa who moved away when they were eight and eleven, respectively. Elsa who moved away for reasons that Anna's parents said she would understand when she was older, and still hadn't gotten an explanation for because Elsa hadn't sent anything afterwards, and her parents then said that it wasn't their place to say. Elsa who didn't call, never bothered to come back even just for a visit, and didn't even bother to send a letter saying that she was still alive.

"Yello, Love Expert speaking."

Anna was too preoccupied by her thoughts that the joking statement didn't even register.

"Why didn't she ever want anything to do with me?"

She could almost hear Kristoff's shrug. "Because she's—" Anna heard the pause, and then the sigh. "I'm sure she had her reasons."

Kristoff very well couldn't have told her that Elsa was dumb, like he told her about the genuinely dumb boys Anna had briefly dated, because Elsa wasn't that. They both knew it. Though, really, what did she know about her now? A decade into the future, surely Elsa wasn't the same person.

"I would've been happy with a thirty second long phone call or—or even just a scrap of paper once a month." Something, anything, to let her know that Elsa was okay and alive. "She left me."

And Anna, frustrated and sad she was, couldn't necessarily blame her: she was only eleven at the time, and so wasn't exactly allowed making many of her own decisions. For all she knew, Elsa hadn't been allowed to call or was too busy to be able to write her.

Too busy for Anna, a girl she'd known since birth. Too busy for Anna, her best friend whom she desperately tried to keep out of trouble, but also got into trouble with in the process. Too busy for Anna, who she'd promised to keep an eye on and never leave.

But Elsa seemed like she didn't want anything to do with her, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Maybe," Anna sighed, more to herself than to him, "Maybe she got sick of me." It was possible. She had been a handful as a child, always getting them into trouble. "Maybe she got tired of everything and when she moved, she... I don't know, saw it as a way out?" Her fingers plucked invisible specks of dust off her jeans.

"You know that's not true," he said gently. "She loves you."

Yeah, right. Some sort of love that was, ditching her. She ignored his wording, chalking it up to having called his family prior to leaving her dorm. His younger siblings often mixed tenses up, and he was easily influenced by them.

"She promised me she wouldn't leave. She said she'd keep me safe."

"Maybe_ I'm _just dumb," she sighed and fell backwards onto the mattress. "I'm just being irrational. I mean, what kind of promises could she keep then anyway? Not like she could say no to moving."

But Elsa had _promised_ and then she had simply left her alone.

And she had the gall earlier to say that she hoped to see Anna again! The nerve to act as if nothing ever happened, and to _ask about her_ and to act as if she cared when she obviously didn't care_ enough _to try to initiate contact in a decade, well, it made Anna see red!

That settled it then, Anna decided. She puffed out a sharp breath and crossed her arms. Elsa certainly would _not_ be seeing her around, and she certainly wouldn't be getting anymore information about her through Kristoff. Let her see how enjoyable it was to be abandoned.

"Anna," Kristoff said warningly, when she voiced her thoughts. "You know you don't mean that."

But only a few seconds after coming to that resolution did Anna drop her arms and sigh again. Maybe she was being naïve, but the thought wouldn't leave her alone: Elsa never had any reason to go back on her promises before moving, so why would she break any of the ones she made unless there was a good reason?

A sigh of defeat. "I know I don't. I just—I want to be mad at her, you know? Ten years of nothing and the first thing she tells me is that she 'hopes to see me around?' Ten years of nothing and the first thing she finds out about me is that the last time I broke my arm was when I was eight?"

Elsa once promised her that she would keep Anna out of trouble, and she did it as best she could. The little blonde girl often took the blame for the things that came of Anna's ideas, and so the little troublemaker would only bear little of the consequence. Elsa promised her that she would do all she could to protect Anna from getting hurt. Elsa promised her that she would always be there.

She'd kept all those promises throughout the time they'd known each other—Anna was a particularly imaginative child who was prone to doing things she shouldn't have been, and Elsa was the only one who could even attempt to tame her.

"She did keep you safe," he reminded her. "Don't you remember the tandem bike fiasco? She took a concussion for you."

A particular memory surfaced. Well, two.

At one point, she had suggested riding Elsa and her's tandem bike down the stairs. She'd seen people on TV ride their bikes down fifty feet tall ramps, what could be so different?

Elsa had sworn up and down that she wouldn't go along with it, saying that the people on TV were professionals, that they had training, they'd been doing it for years! That they had medical professionals waiting just in case of an accident, to which Anna said that her parents were medical professionals (they weren't) and would be in the kitchen. Elsa had called her insane for wanting to ride a bike—that Anna had _just learned _how to ride without training wheels, nonetheless!—down two flights of stairs, and was gobsmacked when Anna claimed that her mother, a daycare worker, and her father, a mechanic, were anywhere close to "medical professionals."

But Anna, even at seven, knew how to manipulate Elsa. She'd widened her already big blue-green eyes, pinned the other girl with them, misted them over with unshed alligator tears, stuck out her bottom lip, and unleashed a pout so pathetic that she could see Elsa's resolve break. She planted her neon green pajama'd butt onto the hardwood beside the tandem bike and was ready to start crying, when Elsa had taken her into her arms and, having given up, agreed.

It went without saying that they crashed and burned, thankfully with no major injuries other than a few bruises, and that Elsa was the one who willingly took the brunt of their parents' anger.

When Kristoff came along, all he did was encourage her (to Elsa's displeasure), even coming up with his own schemes every now and again, but mostly embellishing Anna's to make them bigger, more dangerous, and more _fun._

The idea came up again after some months, and wound up with Elsa sitting on the tandem bike's handlebars because she didn't want Anna on the front line, so to speak. Anna took the front seat, and Kristoff the seat behind her.

Elsa wound up with a concussion, and their parents forbade them from seeing each other for a week.

"God," Anna sighed at the twinge of guilt in her chest. "I'm surprised she was able to sit after that."

"You couldn't look her in the eyes for days."

"I don't know if I could look at her _now._"

"Really? You had an easy time looking at her a few hours ago."

She pointedly chose not to honor that with a response. "Do you think she remembers?" What if Anna was the only one who thought back on their childhood antics?

"I don't think concussions are easily forgotten," he quipped. She could hear the smile in his voice, though. "But you could always, I don't know, ask her?"

She voiced her previous concern, and he laughed. "What? What if I embarrass myself in front of her _again_, or make it awkward because I'm the only one who thinks about it, and it'll be like, 'Oh, oops, silly me for expecting you to remember something that happened ten years ago!'"

"Anna," he sighed, though not unhappily. "The only way to know is to ask."

"I bet she wouldn't even notice me."

A scoff. "Yeah, right."

"Oh, what would you know?" she brushed her hair back with her free hand. "I'm sorry, Kristoff. It's just a lot to take in."

He hummed, not bothered by the statement. "It's cool, I know you can't understand as much as us normal folk."

Despite the tease, she couldn't help the way her lips quirked up.

"Look," he said with a tone of finality in his voice, "There's the orientation going on tomorrow for you freshmen. I happen to know that she's going to be there, so why don't you go and get friendly with her? Go and reminisce and tell her about how you broke your arm or whatever, and you two can laugh about how dumb you've been over the years."

Maybe, Anna thought to herself. Maybe she'd finally get answers. Or maybe she'd embarrass herself to the point that she'd burst into flames because her face got so red. Her lower lip caught in between her teeth.

But what if she could have Elsa back?

"I'll go."

* * *

><p>AN: Introductory chapter woes. I've decided to honor the request of those who commented on the excerpt Peppermint, and start from the beginning. Chapters will only get longer from here, and I foresee a slow burn coming.

Arendelle U isn't located in NY, for those wondering about the chapter title. I've a playlist that roughly tells the entire story, and because I'm horribly unoriginal I've decided to base chapter titles on those songs. Points to whoever can guess the artists.


	2. When Can I See You Again?

You Are In Love  
>02: When Can I See You Again?<p>

* * *

><p>The following morning had Anna wide awake at seven am. She had showered, tamed her wily hair into her signature double braids, and dressed in a simple sweater and jeans just in time to slam her hand down onto her alarm clock as soon as it sang at 7:25.<p>

She could rival cousin Rapunzel in her efficiency, she'd thought.

Unfortunately, Anna was quick to realize, there wasn't very much to do at that early in the morning. She had no classes until the following day, Kristoff was still sure to be asleep, and the chances of her running into anybody would be slim, as well. There wasn't very much left of hers to unpack, since most of it was clothing, and she didn't feel too much like surfing the internet, what else was there to do?

Early mornings weren't normal for her, but she hadn't been able to get much sleep. Not only did she have trouble getting there, but then there was the issue of staying in it. She kept waking up for seemingly no reason, laying there for what felt like hours until sleep overtook her again. It wasn't until seven came along that she decided, whatever, she wouldn't be getting any, why not get up and do something productive?

Movement outside her window caught her eye. Nothing much, really, just a lone figure that was heading down the main pathway outside of the gates.

Anna realized then that she had arrived late the day prior, and knew nothing of the town outside of the university. So with a shrug and a grab of a light jacket, she decided to head off campus and explore the small town that housed it.

Besides, if there was one thing she could count on being open this early in the morning, it would be the coffee shop she spotted down the road yesterday.

* * *

><p>The streets of the small town weren't anything spectacular. It had a little bit of the old fashioned charm, with the street lamps and brick roads. Its buildings were pushed together, walls sharing walls, and with many air conditioning units hanging out of windows—not that people would be using it around this time of year anyway.<p>

Early September in Arendelle, she remembered Kristoff telling her when he began school, was similar to late fall in Corona, even if they were only a few hours apart. It had stuff to do with it being more north, and a little ways up North Mountain. He also offhandedly mentioned that further up the mountain, where it was snowy and cold all year long, was another small town where earlier Arendelles stayed. The town higher was considered "Upper Arendelle," though most people just called it North Mountain; the lower, where the university was, was dubbed "Lower Arendelle," but most people just called it Arendelle.

Anna appreciated the crisp air. It felt fresher than back home, where the more modern—not even necessarily _modern_, just more recent—Corona was suburban. Suburbs meant more cars and more pollution. More minivans for new families, not that Anna ever minded it, since she quite enjoyed playing with the neighboring children. Some were quite disappointed to see her go, especially one wiry and affectionate eight year old boy named Olaf.

Olaf Snow spent more of his time in Corona with his aunt. While Anna never dug too deeply into the matter, she had overheard her parents mentioning that his parents lived up north where it snowed year round. He had been born premature and had nearly died of sickness as a young child, and so they made the decision to send him to his aunt until he was a little bit older. They would come every few months, usually around the school holiday times, to spend time with him. Anna was always away with her own family during it, and therefor never had the chance to meet them.

She'd placated him with promises of frequent phone calls home, and even mentioned to her parents that she would like if they told him about her every now and again. They agreed with the idea, since she'd been babysitting him since he was four. She also promised that she would see him during her breaks, saying that Thanksgiving was the first, and that would only be coming up in but three months.

Olaf had pleaded with her to stay, asking at every opportunity _why_ she had to go or why _he _couldn't go _with_ her. She felt guilty, of course, because he was only a kid and, she knew from experience how hard it was to let friends go. But Anna promised him—pinky swore, crossed her heart and hoped to die, that she would keep in contact and that she would never be too busy to call home. Besides, she had reminded him, her parents mentioned that his parents were going to be having a baby soon. His own little brother, and that maybe, just maybe, he would be the one too busy to answer her calls.

The little boy with his deep brown eyes and wispy coal black hair had vehemently denied it of course, joking as she was when she said it, telling her that there was no way ever that he'd be too busy for her because he simply loved her too much. That the only people he loved just as much were his parents and his aunt and Kristoff and Sven and his other aunt who wasn't _really_ his aunt because they weren't related by blood, but he grew up with her around and played with her a lot whenever she did come down, so that still counted, right?

Anna knew he was young, knew that he was still very innocent, and she knew he still didn't know very much about the world, but she couldn't deny that it was wonderful to have somebody tell her that. He had a big heart filled with unlimited and unconditional love for everyone and, if she were to be honest, probably knew more of love than she did. That, she knew, was something to aspire to be.

Her thoughts about Olaf must have distracted her for longer than she realized. Surely, she distantly thought when her eyes landed on the white sign, it wasn't that short of a walk? A glance back up the road told her that, no, was it wasn't a terribly short way. She could still see the clock tower clearly, but it must have been a good half mile away.

The Starbucks wasn't particularly crowded that morning, and the dark haired boy working the counter that day looked up at her when the bell jingled. What would Anna expect, with it being only 7:45 in the morning before classes started? There were a few people, mainly ones who seemed to be a good thirty or forty years older than she, sat on the plush seats near the big window. Many of the other tables were empty.

Her feet carried her up to the counter, and she readily returned his smile.

"What can I get for you today?"

"A venti mocha latte, please."

He nodded, pulled a large to go cup out, and scribbled her order on it. "Can I have your name?"

"Anna."

"Great!" He grinned at her, and pressed a few buttons on the register. "That'll be $4.85."

She instinctively reached for her waist where her bag rested and found, to her embarrassment, that no bag was there. She'd forgotten.

Anna cursed to herself, glancing up at the patiently waiting boy while she patted her pockets. Maybe if she made it look like she was searching, he wouldn't realize that she didn't have money on her. Maybe it would save her the embarrassment. She'd probably have to find a different location to go to now.

"I—I'm sorry, I know I have it here somewhere," Anna stammered.

"Miss?" the boy looked at her.

"I'm so sorry," she sighed, and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. "I'm dumb and I forgot my—"

The bell jingled behind her, so she stepped out of the line to let the next customer order, but the boy's eyes snapped to attention, and a smile came across his face.

"Miss Elsa!"

Crap. Anna's eyes slid shut and her hand covered them. Of course it would be Elsa. Not like knocking her over yesterday was enough, now she had to forget her money in front of her, too.

"Good morning, Eric." Anna could hear a smile in the soft voice.

"Will it be your cappuccino today?"

God, and she even came there enough for the employees to know her order_._ She figured that it would happen if Elsa was going there regularly over the past years.

"Yes, Eric. Thank you." She felt eyes on her, and against her better judgment, looked. "Anna? Is that you? Is something wrong?"

Elsa's head had tilted slightly, and blue eyes wandered over Anna's flushing face. "Um, n—no, I mean—I mean, yeah, I'm me. Who else would I be, right?" She laughed and desperately hoped that it sounded not as fake as it felt. "I just forgot my wallet, but—but it's fine! It's, ah, it's cool. I can always come back later."

Elsa's eyes narrowed some, and Anna couldn't help reaching up to tuck a hair behind her ear—not that there was even anything loose. Blue eyes glanced over to... Eric, was his name?

"I'd like to pay for hers as well, Eric."

The man nodded, and began to punch the prices in.

"What?" Anna gaped for a moment, before waving her hands in front of her chest. "Nonono, it's totally fine, Elsa. You really don't have to do that! I really can come back later, I don't mind the walk at all because it's—well, it's quite a nice walk, actually, and it was nice seeing the area!" she was gesturing wildly at this point, much to her dismay and much to Elsa's... amusement? "I mean, it's a little old looking—not-not that old is _bad_, it's just different like—like your hair!" God, she really just said that, didn't she? Anna prayed for a bolt of lightning to strike her down. "But it's a good different, and the air is fresher because we're on a mountain, and you _really_ don't have to—"

Anna yelped when her hand collided with something hard, and then yelped even louder when a series of heavy plastic reusable cups landed on and around her feet.

Oh God, oh God, oh God, she was_ such_ a screw up.

"I'm so sorry!" Anna was already down on her knees to pick up the fallen merchandise—none broken, as far as she could see, thankfully plastic was durable—but what she didn't realize was that Elsa had been thinking of doing the same thing.

...Leading to another collision, but this time with skulls.

She never wanted more for the world to swallow her into the ground.

They made quick work of putting everything back on the shelf, and Anna was more than ready to bolt by the end of it all. Her face was burning, and she didn't even know that it could hold so much blood in it.

Elsa had paid for their drinks and tossed the change into the tip jar on the counter—probably, Anna realized, because of the chaos she'd caused.

"I'll, um," Anna cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ear again. "I'll pay you back. I'm sorry for causing all of this."

Elsa merely smiled, and when their drinks were placed on the counter, she handed Anna hers. "There's no need, Anna. I promise."

She just barely bit back a not-too-nice response. She'd already screwed up enough in the hour she'd been awake, there was no need to do more damage. "If you say so."

Elsa nodded firmly. "I do." But a... what was that? Was that mischief in Elsa's eyes? "But if you're bent on making it up to me, there is one thing I'd like."

"What's that?"

"Why don't you walk to campus with me? As long as you aren't busy."

Well, that certainly caught her off guard. Despite it, Anna felt herself smile. "Sure. All I was planning to do was cry in embarrassment anyway," she joked.

The blonde woman hummed in response, and held the door open for her. Now in the chilly early morning air, Anna shivered. She was sure it hadn't been that cold on the way, but maybe that was because she'd been so distracted. Elsa, however, seemed unaffected.

"You would have been cold on the way back," Elsa told her. Anna took a sip of her drink, and sighed.

"I'm still cold." She pulled up the zip on her jacket just a little higher. "But not nearly as cold as I would've been without. Thank you again, Elsa. I really do mean it."

They were silent for a few moments.

"So—"

"What do—"

They stopped short, eyes meeting. It was only a few seconds before they broke out into quiet giggles.

"I'm sorry," Elsa said. "You go first."

"Um." Anna nearly rolled her eyes at herself. What a way to start a conversation. "What's the briefcase for? Are you a TA?"

Elsa seemed to contemplate it for a moment. "I have an apartment a few streets away," she began. "I try to come to campus early in the morning to use the library."

"Why not a backpack?"

There was a bit of a guilty smile on Elsa's lips, and her blue eyes flicked away from Anna's. "I used to use one, but I ended up taking too much stuff to and from campus. The briefcase forces me to limit myself."

That was perfectly reasonable. More reasonable than Anna panicking over knocking over a potential professor who looked entirely too young to be one. She couldn't help the relief that flooded her.

"Will you be at the orientation?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, Kristoff told me about it. He told me you'd be there." She actually did roll her eyes at herself at that one. Embarrass yourself more, why don't you?

"Me?"

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, I, um... He saw what happened yesterday—which I'm totally sorry for, again—and told me it'd be a good idea to, you know, hit you up for a chat? Since we haven't spoken in so long, I mean. He mentioned you asking about me." This time, Anna was sure to hold back a little bit of the information. Like Kristoff's blunt wording. Or like how she had to convince herself that it was a good idea by thinking about how Elsa had to be punished because of her.

Elsa hummed again, and Anna was starting to catch on that maybe it was a thing she did when she didn't know what to say? Which made her stomach drop a little bit because she probably shouldn't have mentioned the no contact thing.

"I'll only be there for a short while. The freshmen get split up into groups with a guide to get shown around campus, so you'll only see me if you get put into mine." Elsa paused for a sip of her drink. "But even then, we probably won't have much time to talk."

Anna couldn't deny the disappointment. She'd have to have a talk with Kristoff later for telling her technically incorrect information.

"But," Elsa continued, as if sensing it, "There _is_ still the after party. The welcoming party, I should say. It starts at eight, right after the tours end." She glanced at Anna after a few seconds of silence. "Is there something wrong?"

Anna's eyebrows screwed together. "I just... thought that orientation would start earlier in the morning?"

The blonde head nodded. "They used to. It started early when I came, but enough people complained and wanted one last day to sleep in, so we moved it to the afternoon."

"Should've figured that," Anna mumbled to herself. She sidestepped a lamp post. "How old _is_ this place?" She didn't really expect an answer.

"The university itself dates back to the late 1800s," Elsa began. "The village around it looks to be around the same age. A lot of the architecture is similar, barring where it's been rebuilt."

"Has it been?"

Elsa halted her steps, causing Anna to do the same, and gestured at the lamp post nearby. "These are new. They have daylight sensors in them, like the ones back in Corona. They're just—"

Upon closer inspection, Anna realized that perhaps the town was more modern than her first impression. The lamps had very little rust on them, despite _looking_ old. There would be no way that anybody could light them all by hand, the way they used to be, and she then noticed that there were light bulbs in the glass cases. Even some of the brick roads weren't as worn away by cars as they should have been, obviously replaced over the years.

"Modeled to look old," Anna finished. The approving nod from Elsa was enough to start a fluttering in her belly. "Huh," she couldn't help the smile that was crossing her face. "Clever."

"You would have to rebuild eventually," Elsa said, almost absentmindedly. Did she not care for small talk? "Some of the lamp posts were bent from so much wind, and the roads weren't faring much better."

Anna glanced over at her, but couldn't place the _look_ Elsa was giving her. She cocked her head to the side and, Elsa, as if she'd just noticed, blinked once, twice, and then cleared her throat. Her pale hand gestured calmly (so unlike Anna's gestures mere minutes ago) in front of them, and they began their walk once more.

Anna didn't like the silences much.

"So," so she broke them often. "Are you and Kristoff friends?"

Elsa's eyes went skywards as she thought, and Anna noticed that they were almost the exact same shade of blue. "Acquaintances, more like." The answer was stilted. Had she hit a nerve? "We... share a few classes and interests." Anna missed the way that Elsa looked over at her.

Before Anna could respond, Elsa pinned her with her own question. "Have you made any other friends?"

A heavy sigh brought her shoulders down. "No. I, uh, I don't think I'll be making any. Nobody's ever really given me the time of day, so I'm not really worth talking t—"

"Anna."

Elsa's early-morning-blue eyes were on her now. The redheaded girl sloshed the drink around in her cup before she drank out of it. "Y—yeah?"

"Forgive me if I'm being too forward," she began, gaze up at the sky again. "I know that we... haven't talked in years, so I don't know very much about you now, but," And Anna couldn't help how her eyes were drawn to Elsa's tongue poking out to lick her lips, "I think that those who think that you aren't worth their time are missing out." Elsa took a drink there, then added, "In reality, they are the ones who aren't worth yours."

Anna simply looked at her. From the eyes that were so focused on the path ahead, to the cheeks that were just barely dusted with pink, and to the pink lips that had been coated with light gloss. Elsa certainly had grown up over the years—what was she expecting? That Elsa stayed eleven? What a ludicrous thought because Elsa was certainly _not_ eleven, and no eleven year old walked the way she did—and it showed. Her face had filled out, and she'd grown into her features.

Not that Elsa ever had very much to grow into. She'd been beautiful even as a child. But now, Anna realized, Elsa was more than simply beautiful—the blonde had grown into a very attractive woman. Her cheeks burned at the thought, but there was no shame in admitting it. In fact, she was sure that everybody else on campus agreed with her. Elsa must have been popular around, right?

She cleared her throat. "I..." Pull yourself together, Summers! "Thank you," she just barely stopped the waver in her voice. "Nobody's ever told me that before."

That got Elsa's attention. An immaculately groomed eyebrow was quirked. "Nobody?"

"W—well I mean, Kristoff has, and my parents, and even Olaf, but—"

"Olaf?"

"He's a kid I babysit back home, but... I don't know. Kristoff means it, I know he does. He cares, and so do my parents! I know Olaf means it, too, but he's eight and doesn't really..." she trailed off, and then sighed. "My parents love me, I know they do, but it would just be nice to have someone on my level, you know?"

She heard Elsa let out a breath. "I mean it."

"How are yours?" Anna ventured, after a few moments.

"Hm?"

"Your parents."

"My..." Elsa was the one to trail off this time. "My parents died. Ten years ago."

Anna nearly slapped herself. "I'm—I'm so sorry, I didn't know. God, I'm so dumb, I talk way too much—"

"It's perfectly fine, Anna. I've had time to grieve, and to come to terms." Elsa sighed, though not unhappily. "We would have had to talk about this sooner or later." Anna couldn't meet her eyes.

"Ten years. It must have been hard. Is that why you left?"

Elsa nodded and fiddled with the bottom edge of her cup. "I had no guardians in Corona. I was sent to North Mountain to live with my godparents, since my parents had no siblings."

The guilt and shame flooded her. She'd been so angry, so hurt all those years for being abandoned. She had no idea what it would have been like for the young Elsa to lose everything. What did she know about loss? Nothing, in comparison to the older woman walking beside her.

Anna hadn't even realized that they'd reached the campus gates, so it caught her off when Elsa turned to face her properly and squared her shoulders.

"We need to talk about it," Elsa said resolutely. "It's been a decade, and we haven't talked. There are things that... that I need you to understand, Anna. And things that," her eyes flicked away almost guiltily, "Things that I know you've been wanting to tell me. But there's a busy day ahead of us, so it'll have to be saved. If you want, I mean. I wouldn't want to assume—"

Elsa was beginning to ramble, Anna realized, and to save her the inevitable embarrassment at the end, she burst. This is what she'd been waiting for: the chance to catch up. "We should... We should totally hang out sometime. I really liked spending time with you again."

The sweet, relieved smile on Elsa's face had Anna's heart skipping a beat. A pen was pulled out, seemingly out of nowhere, and Anna handed over her near empty cup when the other girl gestured for it. A number was jotted down in neat, perfectly legible handwriting. "This is me. Don't be afraid to contact me. I've... I've missed you."

Anna couldn't help it. She took the few steps necessary and threw her arms over the taller woman. She felt Elsa go ramrod straight for a moment, and grinned when she relaxed and long arms wound around her back. She could have her back.

Elsa smelled of peppermint, she realized, just as she did when they were children. The blonde girl loved to suck on candy canes, despite how often she and Anna would sneak chocolates. Their parents would reprimand Elsa for constantly snacking, telling her about cavities and having to get them filled. Elsa's father, though Anna remembered that he was the disciplinarian between Elsa's parents, was the one to give her so many of them in the first place.

She wondered if Elsa still liked them.

When they broke apart, she felt Elsa's cool hand touch her cheek—just the slightest brush. Why was Elsa looking at her like that? Not that she minded. Then they smiled, bid goodbye, and went their separate ways.

[PAGE BREAK]

The hours went by slowly. Anna spent time sitting at her desk, typing furiously on her laptop. She was digging through Facebook. The social media website didn't hold very much for her—after all, she only had Kristoff, a few family members (though she only_ really_ talked to Rapunzel and her fiance Flynn, and the rest of her family only made "old people" comments about the pictures she posted), and some kids from high school that she was grouped up with for projects.

She hadn't planned on looking up Elsa. Really, she didn't. It just... _happened_ when she was looking through Arendelle U's page. Her cursor hovered over the inviting link, and she questioned for a minute whether she really should or not. What if Elsa didn't want her looking through it? What if she was hiding something?

...But it was a public website after all, and if there _was_ anything, she was sure that Elsa would have marked her page viewable only by friends. Besides, Elsa asked Kristoff about her, so... was this any different?

She chewed on her bottom lip before, finally, she took the plunge. It felt like forever until the page loaded—the little loading circle spinning indefinitely. Was this okay? It was okay, right? Nothing bad could come of it, surely? The website hadn't implemented a way for users to see who was looking at their page?

Anna was being ridiculous, and she knew it. As long as she didn't click the 'add friend' button, she would be fine. Elsa would never know.

She'd probably accidentally tell her at some point anyway.

There wasn't very much on the page, which both relieved and disappointed her. Elsa's profile was nothing short of professional, but... distant. There were little personal details—true personal details, like her favorite food, or what she was listening to, or even just a one off "I feel like crap" status message.

Studies at Arendelle University, yeah, Anna knew that already. Double majoring in business and architecture—that was new. Twenty-two years old, birthday in mid-August.

Anna smiled at that. They'd always found it funny how Elsa's coloring was suited for the winter months, and how she'd never been able to stand the heat like Anna could, but her birthday was during one of the hottest times of the year.

Not very many friends at all, only a handful, most of which seemed to be classmates. In fact, most of the comments on her wall were about what page the class readings were on, if Elsa happened to know where to point them in the right direction, or about copying notes. Anna couldn't spot one thing that seemed like more than shallow acquaintances.

Who was she to judge a woman by her Facebook wall, though? Maybe Elsa had more relationships going than she liked to show off. Maybe she had a boyfriend. Maybe her other friends didn't like Facebook.

Or maybe Elsa liked to be alone, but Anna doubted that. Nobody_ really _wanted to be alone—though Kristoff would say otherwise, he had Sven and his family. Who did Elsa have? Maybe Elsa didn't have anyone. Maybe she didn't _want_ anyone.

But then why would she have bothered talking to Anna, or asking _Kristoff _about Anna? Why would she have bothered asking to walk back to campus with her, unless she was just being polite? Anna doubted it, too. She wondered if Elsa spent her last birthday alone.

She spotted a familiar head of blonde hair out her window. Speak of the devil.

It was closer to noon now, and so the campus was coming to life. There were students walking around with their friends, and there were some sat on the law doing their own thing. Elsa looked to be on her own, briefcase in one hand and what looked like her phone in the other, drawing brief glances and long stares from the people around.

Anna wondered why nobody cared enough to approach her. Surely being there for three years had established her reputation? Especially when her family had founded the university, and even had the towns named after them. It seemed like a prime reason for Elsa to be popular or at least interesting to others. Her good looks would certainly help in that department.

She made a mental note to discuss it with Kristoff later. Maybe, Anna thought, if Elsa truly didn't have any friends, she could be her first. Everybody needed somebody.

* * *

><p>Later came soon enough when the orientation began. Like Elsa had told her, the freshmen were split up into groups to follow different people. There were less people who had been accepted this year, and so only three guides were needed. Anna hadn't been in Elsa or Kristoff's group, and wound up in a man named Hans's.<p>

He was handsome enough, she supposed. Certainly charming enough, with his chestnut hair, nice smile, and smooth voice. A year ago she might have fallen for him, but this was a new Anna, and this Anna was more preoccupied with catching up with a childhood best friend.

She learned where her classes were going to be and hoped that she wouldn't forget or be late on her first day. She burned into her mind where the cafeteria was and where the bathrooms were because that was knowledge that she couldn't live without. Some history of the school was nice to hear about, even though she knew bits and pieces already because of Kristoff.

All in all, it was only orientation. Nothing incredible or exciting came of it. She was more excited about the party, anyway. Not only had she not seen Kristoff all day, the thought of talking to Elsa again made her stomach hatch butterflies.

Anna didn't know what to expect. She only had Kristoff's stories to go by, and even those were vague because he had a hard time remembering them. The party was to be hosted at one of the sorority houses, and she followed Kristoff there when they met up. Unfortunately for her, because Kristoff wasn't able to tell her much, she was unprepared for the amount of gyrating bodies, pumping music, and smell of beer.

Oh, lord.

Kristoff sent her a sheepish smile. "Didn't know if it would be your type of thing, but no way to know unless you try."

A strangled smile was sent back to him. "Yeah, I... I guess so."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and lead her to a less congested part of the room. She was careful to keep her arms close to herself, lest she accidentally touch an intimate part of another person's body. While the people around her didn't care much for personal space, she very much did so.

A glance around made her wonder if this is what college was about: partying, drinking, and having fun. She wondered if Arendelle's student body came here for this, or if they were there to be serious about their studies. She wondered if Elsa agreed, and she wondered if, maybe, she was just being too uptight.

Kristoff had her meet a few of his classmates. Ariel was one, a redheaded junior studying music. Flounder, a friend of Ariel's, talked Anna's ear off about how great of a singer his friend was, and how he had no doubt in the world that she would make it big. Apparently, Eric was Ariel's boyfriend, and he was happy to recount his first impression of Anna at his workplace that morning. She met a few others after that: Mulan, a Chinese woman who was studying physical education; Ursula, a woman who wanted to be a cutthroat business woman; and then others whose names she couldn't remember.

Anna had felt herself start to loosen up after some time. She had been conversing perfectly well with Flounder, until she made the mistake of looking up towards the banister on the second floor and found blue eyes staring back at her. Elsa, even in the midst of a drunken party, certainly seemed to look gorgeous all the time. Before she could do anything, however, Hans stepped into her field of view.

He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Hi," he said. He held out a hand. "I didn't catch your name at the orientation. I'm Hans."

She shook it, but tried to glance behind his head to catch sight of Elsa again. "I'm Anna. Nice to meet you."

"And you." He cleared his throat. "Do you have any questions about Arendelle? I try to make it a point to be as helpful as I can with the new students."

"Oh?" Distracted, she found Elsa seemingly burning holes into Anna's conversational partner. "Um, no, I think I've got everything. Hopefully I won't get lost tomorrow," she laughed.

He chuckled. "Well, if you do, I'll be there to help." Hans seemed to notice her wandering eyes and turned to look where she was. "I'm sorry, do you have to meet with somebody?"

"No, I—I just saw Elsa and I didn't know she was here," she said lamely.

"You know her?" He asked, eyebrow quirking.

"Yeah, we were friends growing up. Really close." She paused, opened her mouth to say more, but Kristoff's heavy footsteps came up behind her. Anna didn't miss Hans's narrowing eyes at the blond man behind her before he bid her goodnight. She also didn't miss Kristoff's narrowed eyes at Hans's back.

"I'd stay away from him, Anna," he warned as he leaned against a wall. "He's not a good guy."

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "He seemed fine to me."

"Yeah, he _seems_ fine, but he's not. He's a snake, so don't you go frolicking with him or whatever."

Anna eyed her friend for a moment, but ultimately shrugged it off. Hans didn't interest her very much, anyway, so what would he matter. She repeated it to Kristoff, who was satisfied enough with her answer.

"I hear Elsa's looking for you," he said. "I saw her earlier. She said she wanted to talk."

"About what?"

His broad shoulders shrugged, and he drank out of his red cup. "I didn't ask. You should, though." Kristoff pointed up the stairs. "She was up there, last I checked. You should go." At Anna's hesitation, he added, "Come on, Anna," he rolled his eyes and swished the drink around in his cup. "You just gotta grab life by the balls and _do it._" He must have had a few drinks already. He was never _that _crude when sober.

Anna was flabbergasted. "Excuse me? I'm not grabbing anyone's balls!" She must have said it louder than she thought because some people around them glanced over. Kristoff couldn't help the guffaw that escaped him. Anna rubbed her face in hopes of getting rid of the redness that was surely there. "God, Kristoff, you're so _embarrassing!_"

"_I'm_ embarrassing? Here," he chortled, pushing the half full cup into her open hand, "Quit worrying so much, it'll take years off your life."

Her eyes inspected his flushed face, and then wandered to the drink now in her hand. "Wh—what am I supposed to do with this? I'm not even _legal _yet, Krist—"

"Sh sh sh," he cut her off with a finger to her lips, which she glared at and slapped away. "It's a drink. You drink it. Have some. It's cool. It's like," a hand came up to scratch the back of his neck, "It's like a... rite of passage for freshmen or whatever."

He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against and, rather clumsily, began to walk away.

"Wait, wait, wait, where are you going?!"

His half lidded eyes trained on her, and then he cocked an eyebrow. "I'm gonna go get another drink since you stole mine. You'll be fine, I'll be right back and then when everything's done we can head out."

Alone and nervous because Elsa wanted to talk to her, Anna stared down at the drink in her hand. It certainly didn't _smell_ great. In fact, it must have been one of the worst things she'd ever smelled. The yellow coloring of it wasn't that appetizing either. She didn't know what Elsa wanted to talk to her about, alone, in a room, at a party.

Surely not her parents' death?

The redhead cringed at the thought. She doubted it. What else would there be? Did Elsa know she looked at her Facebook earlier that day? What if she was going to tell her that she didn't want anything to do with Anna anymore? The twisting in her stomach made her feel sick.

What did they call alcohol again? Liquid courage?

Anna held her breath to brace herself, and in one quick motion she threw her head back, raised the cup to her lips, and drank. She ignored the taste—it was the worst smelling and worst _tasting_ thing she'd ever had, and up until that point, Kristoff's smelly gym socks were the top of that list—and swallowed it as best she could. When the cup was empty, she gasped for air. Her face morphed into an ugly cringe, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I don't know how anybody can stomach this stuff," she muttered to herself. Kristoff's empty cup was placed on a nearby table, and she looked around for him. There was no sign of him or the people he'd introduced her to. He was hard to miss, being ridiculously tall and wide. She could usually spot him above everybody else.

So, with nobody else there, Anna headed up the stairs to meet Elsa.

It took her a few tries. Some were more embarrassing than others, for all parties involved. She opened one door to find a couple half-dressed on a bed, to which she yelled an apology and slammed the door. The next one she opened—she really should have knocked, but she guessed that the drink was beginning to take effect—was the bathroom. Thankfully, there wasn't a couple in this one, but there certainly was somebody using it. The sudden opening of the door caused the man inside to slip on the rug in his haste to cover himself. He landed on his back.

He was still peeing.

She yelled out another apology, but completely forgot to close the door when she ran off and left the poor man exposed to those walking by.

Mortified, because surely there was nothing more that could go wrong in twenty-four hours, Anna found herself sitting in a coat closet with her head in her hands, a pile of jackets on her back.

Maybe if she sat in there long enough, nobody would remember her. Maybe she could turn into a coat. Maybe she'd never have to talk to anybody ever again.

But that wasn't the way things happened to her, nope. She heard the doorknob turn and resigned herself to more embarrassment. Her face, she was sure, would be permanently stained red by now.

"Anna?" The soft voice made her want to slam her head against a brick wall.

Of course it would be her. Who else would it be other than Elsa? "Anna, is that you?"

Grudgingly, Anna picked her head up from her hands. Things were a little bit blurrier than normal, but not by much. She could certainly feel the buzz, however. "Hi."

Elsa took in the scene before her: Anna, sat on the floor of a coat closet, with a pile of jackets on and around her. Anna, whose face was beet red, who looked so upset, and whose turquoise eyes were unusually glassy. "What are you doing in here?"

Anna could only sigh. Elsa's nose wrinkled at the scent of beer in her breath. "Kritsoff gave me a drink and told me it was a pite of rassage for freshmen and told me that—that I had to grab life's balls and then dis—disappeared. He told me that you're looking forme so I looked for you. I," and this was the hard part, so she closed her eyes, "I walk'd into some people having—having sex and-and then I scared a guy in the rathboom and he slipped and peed on himself. Then I tripped into here and brought everything down with me."

She felt the jackets being pushed off her back, and felt better when the weight was lifted. When she opened her eyes, Elsa was shuffling around to wrap an arm around her waist, and then maneuver Anna's arm around her shoulders.

"I'll have to talk to Kristoff about 'pites of rassages,'" Elsa muttered. "Let's get you home."

Elsa's presence felt more intoxicating than the initial drink she had, and it almost caused her knees to buckle. She was pressed into Elsa's side as they ambled through the crowd which, thankfully, parted as Elsa walked through it. Anna was distantly aware of the eyes on her, but at this point she couldn't bring herself to care anymore.

"How much did you have?" Elsa asked. They were outside now, and the crisp air was nice after the stuffy warmth of the house.

"Just one cup. It was Kistroff's." Anna felt like nodding off. Her head was getting heavy and it was getting harder to lift her own legs up. "Els'm sleepy."

"We'll get to my car and you can sleep at my place. I have spare pajamas," Elsa said softly. "It'll be quicket to drive to my apartment than walk to you dorm across campus."

Anna didn't want to argue with that. It was hard enough to drag her feet, and at this point she was sure that Elsa was doing most of the work. "I miss'd you," Anna whispered.

The arm around her waist tightened. "I've missed you, too."

"Really?" Tears pricked her eyes, and they were rolling down her face before she knew it. Elsa was _here_ and she cared, and _she missed her, too_. Anna was drunk, and maybe it was a bad idea to have all of what Kristoff gave her. What if she was imagining this in her drunken stupor? "I didn't—I didn't think... I thought you sot gick of me. You idn't call. You just _left._"

"I could never get sick of you," was the whispered response. "I'm sorry for not calling. I'm sorry for not telling you. We'll talk about it soon, I promise you."

Anna felt something cold against her back, and realized somewhere that they were at Elsa's car. The passenger door was opened, and she was gently lead into the seat and buckled up. "Wait!" The volume of the exclamation surprised even her, and she flinched. "You—you can't drive!"

Confusion replaced regret on Elsa's face. "Why not?"

"Did—didn't you have some, too?" Anna tried to unbuckle her seat belt, but was fumbling too much. Her fingers kept missing the damn button, but she couldn't let Elsa drive. "You shouldn't—you shouldn't do that!"

"Anna, I don't drink." The statement had the redhead drunkenly looking up at her. "I've never had any."

"Then—then why're you at the party?"

Elsa's eyes flicked away from hers. "I had to watch over things. It's a promise I made."

Anna was going to ask about more, but the door was shut. By the time Elsa crossed in front of the car and made it into her seat, the question had flown from Anna's mind entirely. Early-morning-blue eyes looked at her in... she couldn't make out what that look was, and then Elsa opened up the center console between them.

"Here," she pressed the unopened chocolate bar into Anna's closer hand. "Have some."

Despite being out of her mind, Anna could recognize expensive chocolate when she saw it. She was going to say something, but Elsa had already began to pull the car out of the parking spot, and she knew better than to distract her. Elsa must have know—there would be no other reason for the satisfied smile that Anna could barely make out in the dark.

They made it to Elsa's apartment safely, and Anna was nearly asleep by then. Elsa had to lead her up the front porch and up the small flight of stairs. She attempted to apologize, but she didn't know if it came out as words or incoherent mumbles because all Elsa did was smile. Anna couldn't even take in what the apartment looked like.

Her shoes were taken off and she was handed a loose t-shirt and pajama pants. Her hair was undone from its braids, and then she was gently pushed into the bathroom to change. Elsa's smell was everywhere, she realized. The scent of whatever brand laundry detergent Elsa used was on the clothes she was changing into, and the faint crispness of peppermint was floating around. Anna fumbled with the doorknob, and was then lead into Elsa's bedroom.

"You take the bed," Elsa told her, now clad in a simple nightgown. The covers were lifted up to Anna's chin, and cool hands pressed against her face. She felt her skin burn, despite the temperature of Elsa's hands. "I'll be on the couch if you need me."

She understood not a word of it. What she did understand was that Elsa was standing up from the bed, and that she was going to walk out of the room. Anna's hand flew out from under the thick blanket and caught Elsa's thin wrist.

"Please don't leave me."

Anna, with her eyes slipping shut, missed the conflict on Elsa's face. What she didn't know, however, couldn't hurt her, and Elsa slipped in. It wasn't long before Anna surrendered to exhaustion.

* * *

><p>AN: Bits are cliché. They're meant to be, I promise. It's in the plans. I appreciate the encouragement, as I haven't written in a long time.

t3l4mon: The playlist I've got pulled up has twenty-two songs in it currently, so I'd wager we're looking at about twenty to twenty-five chapters in total, _maybe_ even thirty if I can't wrap it up in time. The story takes on the tried and true three act structure, and we're looking at about a rough eight chapters (and about 60k words in those prewritten, half-finished, unedited ones alone) until we push into Act II, where the Peppermint excerpt was taken. That should roughly put it into perspective. I'd like to explore the developing relationship (friendship and romantic), and the things that bloom with it, which is why I'm giving myself such a generous range.


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